While gout affects millions worldwide, there's still no sustainable cure for it.
One reason is that urate-lowering therapy, which addresses the cause of gout, actually increases the chances of a gout attack. Not to mention that many of the prescriptions for gout can have adverse side effects, like abdominal and gastrointestinal pain.
However, gout research shows that the cure could be under our noses.
Or rather, right under your tongue.
Scientific evidence now proves that cherry juice can lower uric acid, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Beyond that, it can also help fight obesity, muscle loss, and insomnia.
Today, we’re diving into the latest gout research and how cherry juice can help with it, as well as other benefits of cherry juice.
What is Cherry Juice?
Cherry juice is any juice made from cherries. All over the world, cherry juice is consumed for its enjoyable flavour as well as its plant-based benefits. For example, black cherry juice helps with muscle recovery and antioxidants.
How is Cherry Juice Made?
Typically, you can make sweet cherry juice in 3 ways:
- Cherry juice non-concentrate produced from freshly squeezed cherry juice.
- Cherry juice concentrate made when the water content is evaporated, creating a denser and richer juice.
- A cherry juice cocktail composed of cherry juice, sugar, and other ingredients.
6 Benefits of Drinking Cherry Juice
From the ancient Romans to the present day, sweet cherry juice has been consumed for its delicious flavour for thousands of years. But today, cherry juice is also gaining popularity for a variety of benefits.
Here are the top 6 advantages of drinking cherry juice backed by science.
#1 – Reduces Uric Acid
You often hear people say to drink cherry juice for gout—and there’s a good reason behind this. The American Society for Nutrition found that drinking cherry juice daily for 4 weeks can reduce your serum uric acid concentration by 19.2%. This is significant as the uric acid buildup is the primary cause of gout.
Another study reports that 70% of participants who joined the study and drank cherry juice had lower levels of uric acid in their bodies.
#2 – Fights Inflammation and Swelling
Aside from reducing uric acid, cherry juice also helps by decreasing gout flare-ups. This can be attributed to the fact that cherry juice can inhibit the secretion of a protein called cytokine interleukin-1β by up to 60%. This protein can bring about gout flare-ups and autoimmune diseases when there’s too much in your body.
#3 – Rich in Antioxidants
Another benefit is that fresh cherry juice contains anthocyanins which give cherries their deep colour. They also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
One survey even reported that people who drink cherry extract alone have a 45% lower risk of gout flare-ups. Plus, if you drink cherry juices and allopurinol, you can reduce the risk further by 75%.
#4 – Protects Against Diabetes and Obesity
And that’s not all the anthocyanins in cherries can do. A study on mice shows that anthocyanin can help regulate your insulin and blood sugar levels. While another study discovered that rats who ate cherries had lower hyperlipidemia, percentage fat mass, and abdominal fat.
This is good news, especially for people diagnosed with gout as they’re predisposed to develop diabetes and obesity.
#5 – Promotes Muscle Recovery
Recently, one paper studied Olympic athletes and observed that the phytochemicals in cherry juice can speed up the muscle recovery of athletes. More than this, they also found that cherry juice can improve the vascular function of athletes. So much so that it is as good as a pharmacological intervention in lowering blood pressure.
All these aid in muscle-building and overall better health.
#6 – Improves Sleep
Finally, black cherry juice is a natural source of melatonin, which is known to help regulate the body’s sleep-wake cycles. Studies have also shown that consuming cherries can help increase the length and quality of your sleep.
These are just 6 of the many benefits of drinking cherry juice regularly. That means that you can even experience more as you integrate it into your diet. For example, our fresh Okanagan cherry juice also includes potassium, calcium, and iron, which help keep your body fit.
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